Diverse reactions have continued to trail the disqualification of Nigeria’s Oscars entry ‘Lion Heart’ by the award’s Academy.
The film was dropped for having too many English dialogues, against the category’s criterion for predominantly non-English dialogue.
Following the announcement, several film enthusiasts went on social media to share their thoughts, including award-winning director, Ava DuVernay
To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its in English. But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language? https://t.co/X3EGb01tPF
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) November 4, 2019
DuVernay, who empathised with Nigeria wrote, “To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its in English. “But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?”
For her part, Nnaji tweeted in response to the academy’s decision that her movie “represents the way we speak like Nigerians. This includes English, which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country. ... We did not choose who colonized us. As ever, this film and many like it is proudly Nigerian.”
1/1 1/2 Thank you so much @ava❤️.
— Genevieve Nnaji MFR (@GenevieveNnaji1) November 4, 2019
I am the director of Lionheart. This movie represents the way we speak as Nigerians. This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria. @TheAcademy https://t.co/LMfWDDNV3e
2/2 It’s no different to how French connects communities in former French colonies. We did not choose who colonized us. As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian. @TheAcademy https://t.co/LMfWDDNV3e
— Genevieve Nnaji MFR (@GenevieveNnaji1) November 4, 2019
“This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria. @TheAcademy.”
NAN reports that ‘Lionheart’, in which Nnaji plays a woman who tries to keep her father’s struggling company afloat in a male-dominated environment, is currently available on Netflix.
 "Dubai Submerged In Flood")
